Transformers: A New Generation
by GravityEmblem
Summary: When Decepticons are sighted on Earth, a group of new recruits are sent to asess the situation. However, things quickly go out of hand...
1. Prelude

Disclaimer: I do not own anything presented in this fanfiction. Optimus, Megatron, and other classic Transformers characters are owned by Hasbro. Epsilon, Ticktock, and all other OCs were created by the Youtuber Diamondbolt. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this story.

...

 _Long ago, on a faraway planet..._

 _(The same galaxy as Earth, mind you)_

 _Peace reigned over Cybertron. All was well with its inhabitants...until 10 orbital cycles ago..._

 _(An orbital cycle is the amount of time Cybertron takes to orbit its star. It is equal to 273 rotational cycles, which are each about 35 Earth hours long.)_

 _But first, some history._

 _Cybertron is inhabited by biomechanical aliens who call themselves Cybertronians. These beings possess the ability to shift parts of their body into a vehicular form, called an alt-mode. They also have the ability to scan other vehicles to blend in to the native environment of said vehicles._

 _Cybertron is composed of many countries, many small, some larger. However, the two biggest and most powerful are called Autobia and Decepticonion. These nations had been living in peace for centuries, despite the building tension. However, that all changed with one leader named Megatron._

 _Megatron had led a coup against the current king, Galvatron. In a matter of decacylces (a period of time roughly equal to ten rotational cycles. There are 26 in an orbital cycle, according to the Cybertronian calendar), he gained control of several smaller countries, through bribery, extortion, and straight-out war, forming a Deception Empire._

 _Fearing the viscous warlord, the Autobot High Council gathered and spoke of how peace, perhaps, was the best option in this scenario. However, one young senator and former soldier proposed that Autobia stand up against this tyranny. He said that he believed that the Decepticons must be stopped, for freedom was the right of all sentient beings._

 _His name was Orion Pax._

 _He is not this story's hero._

 _I mean, we're still talking about the background here. Back to the exposition._

 _He offered to lead the Autobot forces, since no one else was willing to. While he won many early victories, his troops were losing morale, and the Deception forces were growing by the rotational cycle. Eventually, Orion made a choice._

 _He was going to find the Matrix of Leadership._

 _Orion was inspired to do this by an ancient Cybertronian prophecy: "When the league of darkness rises up, a hero will rise to leadership...with the power of the Matrix, he will light our darkest hour". After a decacycle of searching, he came to the hidden shrine where the Matrix was hidden. Orion, now dubbed Optimus Prime, wielded it against the Decepticons, and soon ended the war. Those that still supported Megatron were scattered and in exile, and the lands of the countries they conquered were returned to them._

 _Following the war, the time came to elect a new High Minister for Autobia. Optimus was nominated, and he won easily. He proved to be a fair and just leader, and was admired and respected by all. Unfortunately, this state of peace did not last long, and 17 decacycles into his term, Prime received information of great distress..._

...

Optimus sat in his office, rewatching the footage for the third time. With him were his advisor, Alpha Trion, an old and wise senator, and a close friend of Optimus; Kup, Prime's former sergeant, who was an experienced military tactician and an instructor at Autobia State Military Academy; Bumblebee, Optimus's second-in-command during the Great War, who lost his arm during the last days of it; lastly, Prime's running mate, Ultra Magnus.

"Sir," Bumblebee finally spoke up. "Do you have a plan for this situation?"

"Sadly, I do not. What little of a standing military our country has is on the _Lost Light_ , investigating a distress call from Quintession."

"We can't just do nothing!" Magnus insisted. "The inhabitants of that planet probably have no way of effectively defending themselves from the Decepticons!"

"True, but we have no one to send," Alpha Trion noted.

"Actually, I might have an idea," Kup mentioned. "I have quite a few very competent recruits who might be just the 'bots for a recon mission."

"Can you elaborate?"

"Definitely. First, there's Epsilon. He'd be my first pick; top of the class, great leadership skills. He can get emotional, but I feel he's the best choice to lead the team. Next, you got Blades. Impeccable combat abilities, bit of a loner, but he can deal with working with people on the battlefield. Then, there's Hardhead, or as the rookies call him, Numbskull."

"Numbskull?"

"Don't let the name fool you. He a genius, if you're going by smarts alone, and he's a great tactician. He's not the best with weapons, but, hey, no one's perfect. And there are a few more...Shocker, Quartz, Skyrocket, Detector, and TickTock, to name a few."

"Very well. Call them to arms. They may be our best chance..."

...

 **Extra Zone: Optimus Prime**

 _Tech Spec:_

Strength 7/10

Speed 5/10

Intelligence 6/10

Courage 8/10

Leadership 10/10

Firepower 6/10

 _Personality:_

Optimus Prime is the brave and powerful leader of the Autobots. During the Great War, he led the Autobot forces to victory against the Decepticons. In the current post-war state, he holds office as the High Minister of Autobia.


	2. Chapter 1: The Assignment

Epsilon' spark was beating as he walked down the hallway that led to the Autobia military command center. _What could Minister Optimus want with us?_ he wondered nervously. Having to report to the principal's office was not a quarter as stressful as this. Knowing that their country's leader was once Head General of the Autobot Army during the recent Great War did nothing to soothe Epsilon's worry.

He looked about him, searching for a familiar face. Sergeant Kup, his class's instructer, had called them all separately, so Epsilon didn't know beforehand who was in the same boat with him.

 _Let's see...Ticktock, I know; of course, I should. We are best friends, after all. Who else...Blades is here, but he probably doesn't want to talk...Quartz and Jetstream are in my class, but I don't know them personally...Firearm, Shocker, and Detector I know pretty well, and as for Reflector, his brother has told me a lot about him, and_ everyone _knows Hardhead. The orange jet, I don't know anything about, besides the fact that he's training as a Seeker. So that's pretty much everyone._

Epsilon's reverie was interrupted by his sergeant announcing that they had arrived at their destination.

"Everybody, take your seats. Optimus has an assignment for you."

Upon hearing that, his spirits instantly lifted. An assignment? This was amazing news! He (in addition to his fellow cadets) had been chosen to go on an official military mission! Epsilon sat down with the rest and attempted to contain his excitement while their leader explained the details of their mission.

"You have been called here because a great threat has been uncovered. The threat...of the Deceptions."

A great murmur broke out amongst the recruits. Optimus called for attention, and they raptly focused on the video clip Prime was showing them. In it, a tall figure, orange in color, was spraying the ground and vegetation of a planet with oil. He then took out mechanical stick, set it alight with his flamethrower and threw it to the ground. The forest was in flame within moments, and by the light of the fire, all the cadets could clearly see his sinister expression, and his blood-red Decepticon insignia.

Optimus deactivated the video screen and turned to the students.

"The Deceptions have landed on a distant planet called Earth. If nobody stops them, they will conquer this world and enslave its inhabitants...or worse. Our standing military is currently unavailable; you were chosen because you are considered the best of your class, and because of your unique abilities and talents. Your mission: to assess the situation with the Decepticons on Earth, and to contain that situation until we can send reinforcements. Understand?"

" _Sir, yes sir!_ " the Autobot cadets replied in unison.

"Epsilon, I appoint you as the leader of this mission."

"Me, sir? I'm not sure I'm qualified..."

"I believe you to be, or I would not have chosen you for this position." Prime turned to the other recruits. "Firearm, you will be the Medical Officer aboard the assigned ship. Hardhead, you will be Science Officer. You travel to Earth on the _Victory_ shuttle, stationed in docking bay 4, in 5 cycles. I believe in each and every one of you. Make me and your sergeant proud." The team saluted and marched out of the room.

...

When the five cycles had elapsed, all the recruits had gathered in the _Victory_. All except Hardhead, that is, who had gotten sidetracked talking to Nosecone and Air Raid, his fellow cadets.

"...and that is why trains are a legitimate means of travel despite the fact that almost all members of our society possess the ability to convert into a vehicular mode."

"Hmm. I never thought of it that way."

"Heh, there's a reason you gained a reputation as the smartest 'bot in class!

"Well, I don't like to brag, but-"

Hardhead was interrupted by the sound of the countdown for the _Victory_ to launch.

"Oh, great!" he shouted. " _This_ is why people call me Numbskull!" He transformed and jet toward the shuttle. Unfortunately, it had already lifted off, so he had to make due with grabbing on to the left wing. Meanwhile, inside of it, Quartz made sure the thrusters were stabilized before they reached cruising altitude and set Earth as the destination in the coordinates.

 _There's no turning back now,_ Epsilon thought. _I know we can do it. This is our chance to prove ourselves as soldiers...this is MY chance to prove myself as a leader!_

...

The _Victory_ soon reached cruising altitude, and Quartz activated the magnetic field, so the squad was free to roam the shuttle until they skewed into hyperspace. Epsilon looked out the window, into the darkness of space.

"Congratulations, Epsilon," Ticktock to his commanding officer and friend. "Or should I say, Epsilon Prime."

"Come on now, Ticktock. Prime is a rank granted to generals, and I'm just a cadet who happened to be named leader of a mission. If anything, I'm 'Epsilon Acting Minor'."

"Well, your still the leader, nonetheless. Isn't that what you always wanted?"

Epsilon smiled and stood up. "Anyway, we should take a roll call to make sure everyone is accounted for before we skew. Ticktock?"

"Here!"

"Skyrocket?"

"Present, sir!"

"Reflector?"

"Ready to roll!"

"Detector?"

"Ready to _rock!_ "

"Quartz?"

"I'm definitely here; otherwise, who's flying the shuttle?"

"Jetstream?"

"Accounted for!"

"Blades?"

"Yes."

"Shocker?"

"I'm here. You know, you're really on a roll, here? A _roll_? Eh?"

"...Firearm?"

"On standby in the medical bay."

"Hardhead? ...Hardhead? Where did he get off to?"

Ticktock wordlessly pointed out the window, where a cold, hapless Hardhead was desperately clutching to the wing.

...

 **Extra Zone: Epsilon Prime**

 _Tech Spec:_

Strength 6/10

Speed 5/10

Intelligence 5/10

Courage 7/10

Leadership 8/10

Firepower 6/10

 _Personality:_

Epsilon is generally cool-headed but can get emotional when the situation is dire. From the time he was young, he wanted to lead his very own Autobot squad. His dreams were fulfilled when Optimus Prime appointed him to lead a squad of cadets to scope out Decepticon activity on a planet called Earth.


	3. Chapter 2: Blending In

...

Six cycles after launch, the _Victory_ successfully landed on Earth. Epsilon lowered the exit shaft and looked out upon the world they were tasked to protect.

"This world certainly is...organic," he said to himself.

"Not all of it," Numbskull corrected as he initiated the shuttle's cameoflage function. "While the inhabitants are in fact biological, they have industrialized large portions of their homeworld for residence or business."

"I see. We have a lot to learn about these...humans, they were called? However, secrecy is essential, so we can't reveal our presence to them. Additionally, we should remember: our mission isn't to extend liaison to the humans; it's to protect them from being harmed by the Deceptions. Skyrocket, I'm giving you the job of investigating this 'Earth primary database' that I've been hearing about-"

"You mean, the internet?" TickTock clarified.

"Yes, that. Search for any useful information. TickTock, you, me, Reflector, and Jetstream will scout around the area."

The two saluted and joined their leader as he left the shuttle.

...

Within ten minutes, Reflector had already knocked over a tree and set it on fire.

"Is...is this a human?" questioned TickTock, holding up the burning vegetation.

"If it is, it's dead."

"No, humans tend to scream in pain when they die...apparently..."

Epsilon sighed in exasperation. "We can't just stomp around this planet every day, destroying anything we happen to trip over! All right-Jetstream, bring Blades over here."

The indigo and lime Seeker appeared to be confused, but complied nonetheless. He returned with his comrade is little more than a cycle.

"We have vehicular forms, right? Well, now it's time to use them! Reflector, you have the same body type as your brother, and all our Seekers can share an alt-mode. Let's go, crew, hustle!"

They converted into their Cybertronion vehicle modes and drove (or in one case, flew) to a nearby human city. TickTock scanned a minivan, Reflector chose a sports car, and Blades selected a convertible. Meanwhile, Epsilon seemed to be paralyzed with indecision.

"Aerial transport doesn't seem to be common on this planet," Jetstream noted.

"True," replied TickTock. "But I've identified an establishment where we'll be able to find some." He pictured an aircraft hanger on his viewscreen.

"Infiltrate a military base? I'm not sure about that..."

"Mabye, but it's the only place we can find with planes small enough for the Seekers."

"Why is size a problem, again?"

"The same reason aerial Cybertronians can't scan land vehicles, and vice-versa: it's physically impossible for them to transform if they do."

"If it's our only option," Epsilon decided. "We should go for it. TickTock, what time is it?"

The Autobot extended an antaenna, stood still a moment, as if in deep thought, and reported the time to his commander. "It is 1:84 D.D. Earth time: 5:36 A.M."

"All right, most of the humans should be sleeping, even at a military establishment. Autobots, transform and roll out!" Epsilon's team transformed, except for Jetstream, who stayed in robotic form and leaned up against a building.

"...and fly out."

"Thank you." Jetstream converted and joined the other Autobots.

...

They soon arrived at the hanger, and Jetstream scanned an F-22A jet fighter. Meanwhile, Reflector strolled over to a nearby tank.

"Hey, Epsilon, sir, I found an alternate mode for you."

To his surprise, his commanding officer replied with, "Thank you, but no."

Reflector did not respond well. " **What do you mean, no?!** "

"It's nothing against you, it's just...it feels too...aggressive. I would prefer something more...civilian."

Reflector facepalmed. "Then why didn't you pick an alt-mode while we were in the city?!"

"I couldn't find anything I liked!"

All of this commotion awoke a hapless soldier who, in accordance to procedure, investigated the noise and tracked it to one of their aircraft hangers. He opened the door to see two giant robotic aliens arguing over something.

He gasped, then whipped out his walkie-talkie.

"Red alert! There are Deceptions in hanger 12!"

...

 **Extras: TickTock**

 _Tech Specs:_

Strength 5/10

Speed 7/10

Intelligence 6/10

Courage 6/10

Leadership 5/10

Firepower 6/10

 _Personality:_

TickTock is level-headed and loyal. He prides himself on knowing the difference between bravery and overconfidence. He has a close relationship with Epsilon, who he met while he was in Grade 3.


	4. Chapter 3: Revelations

...

Sirens blared throughout the base, and soldiers rushed to Aircraft Hanger to hold off the supposed "Deceptions" while their comrades retrieved the heavy weapons and vehicles.

"Decepticons? We're not-ow!" Jetstream was interrupted by several shots to the chest.

"Are weapons are dealing minimal damage, Commander!" one of the hapless human cried.

"Hold them off as long as possible," the officer replied. "Once the tanks and artillary arrive, we'll be able to drive them off."

"Looks like retreat is our best option," TickTock reported.

"Retreat? No; I will not stoop down to such cowardice. These 'humans' are no match for any of us."

"True, but we can't risk harming them. You go first, I'll see if I can reason with them." Epsilon slowly approached the army, while his team transformed and began to return to the shuttle.

"Look, I don't want to harm you; we're not-" Before he could finish his sentence, the Autobot Commander took a direct hit to the shoulder with a tank shell.

"You're not invading Earth again, Deceptions!" taunted the vehicles cannoneer.

"Oh, that's _it!"_ Epsilon filled with rage. When a missile truck fired a rocket at him, he grabbed the projectile and threw it towards a group of unmanned fighter jets. When the soldiers braced for impact, he converted and drove away.

...

In about twenty cycles, the Autobot scout team had returned to the _Victory_. Reflector allowed his brother to scan his alt-mode, while Skyrocket reported to his commanding officer.

"Did you find any useful information, Skyrocket?"

"Well, first, I looked through the human's primary database-the internet."

"Hmm...sounds like a solid source of information to me. What did you do next?"

"I found an "online encyclopedia" filled with pages and pages of data and history."

"That's great! What happened after that?"

"I started out by looking up the history of the country we landed on...then I found a link to the page of a man called Ben Franklin...then I found a link to the page about turkeys...and eventually I ended up the page about the short snippets of commonly used satirical humor known as...memes."

Epsilon facepalmed.

"I looked some up and then I got sort of...caught up in them."

"When did you _stop,_ Skyrocket?"

"What if I told you...that I never did...?"

Epsilon facepalmed again. Meanwhile, the other Seekers copied Jetstream's fighter jet vehicle mode, and TickTock opened a communications channel to Optimus Prime.

"Greetings, Soldier. What do you have to report?"

"Actually, Epsilon should probably tell you. Commander, Prime needs to talk to you."

"I'm here, sir," the acting captain said, saluting. Then, he turned to his friend. "And you don't have to call me 'Commander'." TickTock shrugged.

"Epsilon, how has your first rotational cycle on Earth been?"

"Pretty eventful, to say the least. We scanned alt-modes, but we were caught in the act by the military. We had a little skirmish, but fortunately, no one was injured."

"Probably," Firearm added.

"Well, we made sure not to kill anyone, at the very least. But, Prime, something about that last encounter bothered me...how did the humans know about Deceptions?"

Optimus was shocked for a moment, then he went into what seemed to be deep thought. "What you have alerted me to is...troubling, to say the least."

"What are you talking about?!" Blades inquired harshly.

"...During the Great War, some of the Autobots and Deceptions set up bases and did battle on other planets...including Earth. I lead one of those teams, very much like how you do now. I told my soldiers to keep a low profile and to not alert any humans to our existence; I expected the Deceptions to do the same. But now...it is apparent that they were less discrete in their conquest."

"Well, hopefully, we'll be able to clear up that misconception," Epsilon confided.

"I have upmost faith in you." Optimus closed the transmission.

...

Meanwhile, in the Deception base, Soundwave had been monitoring the communications channel the entire time, and playing it back for his leader. Megatron sat on a dark, chiseled throne. Above him hung the armless corpse of a blue-and-red Cybertronian, whose head had been bashed. The Supreme Overlord put his hands together and spoke in a deep, grim, and foreboding voice.

"Are you able to track the signal?" Soundwave shook his head.

"Negative, my lord. However, I do have information regarding their approximate location." He played the military record of the "Deception attack". "By locating the base (which I have already accomplished), we will be able to find the Autobot base by sending a team of scouts."

"Only one will be necessary. Silent Strike! Come forth."

The purple Seeker stepped out of the shadows to address his master.

"Yes, my lord. I will do everything in my power to identify where the Autobots are hiding."

"Good. When you do arrive, you must find the ship they arrived on and disable its engines. Second, destroy their long-range communications system. Finally, transmit the coordinates of their base to Soundwave. Then, you may return to our hideout."

Silent Strike bowed to his leader, transformed, and flew out of the cave. Meanwhile, Megatron turned to his medical (and acting science) officer.

"Chopshop. I trust Project: Retrieval has been making progress?"

"Yes, my lord. The target has finished their half of the machine, and we simply need a few more parts, some Energon, and time."

Megatron chuckled. "Soon, the Deception forces will increase by a tenfold, and Earth will rue the day they heard the name 'Decepticon'!"

 **Extra Zone: Silent Strike**

 _Tech Spec:_

Strength 4/10

Speed 8/10

Intelligence 7/10

Courage 7/10

Leadership 4/10

Firepower 6/10

 _Personality:_

Silent Strike is disciplined, cold, and loyal. He will execute any mission Megatron gives him without fail...or he'll execute himself, possibly taking his opponents with him. He is trained in many a form of Cybertronian martial arts, such as circuit-su.


	5. Chapter 4: Infiltration

The following night, Epsilon and Firearm returned to the city in order to find alt-modes. The Autobot medic wasted no time scanning a fire truck, and after careful consideration, his commanding officer decided on a pickup truck.

"We should be able to blend in, now," Epsilon said.

"Do the humans even _make_ green-and-purple vehicles?"

"Apparently, there's such a thing as 'customization'."

"True." The two drove off, not realizing that they were being followed by a purple bomber. They soon reached the _Victory_ , which opened its entry shaft, allowing them to enter. Silent Strike transformed, activated his cloaking device, and snuck in after them.

"Did you two pick out some good vehicle modes?" Detector asked.

"I would say we did. Epsilon can tell you about that, because I need to return to sickbay. I'm working on a new diognostics program." Firearm converted and drove back to his station.

"He seems a bit prickly."

"Not 'prickly' so much as 'very invested in his work'. A good medic is critical for a successful mission, and Firearm takes that to heart."

"Well, I still say the doc's a little too grumpy," Detector responded. "If you don't mind, I'm gonna go see how much air I can get on those hills nearby." He walked out of the ship, transformed, and accelerated away.

"Don't mind him. He's just trying to sound cool," Quartz clarified.

"Maybe he should have picked a snow plow as his alt-mode, eh?" Shocker joked.

"Actually, that would be physically impossible; the size difference would be too large-"

"It's a _joke,_ Numbskull."

...

Meanwhile, Silent Strike was sabotaging the shuttle's engines. He removed several vital components and siphoned the majority of the processed Energon within the fuel tank.

"Phase 2: complete, Lord Megatron," he reported over the comlink.

"Excellent. With no engines, the Autobots will be locked to Earth. Destroy the communications station, and they will be unable to contact their government on Cybertron. Then, it will simply be a matter of indentifying the location of their base, so we can go in for the kill."

Silent Strike began to make his way for the _Victory's_ communications center.

...

Within a few cycles, the Deception saboteur had all but destroyed the ship's long-range communications beacon. Before he was able to leave, Hardhead absentmindedly wandered into the room, muttering a chemical formula to himself, and walked right into Silent Strike, causing them both to falls to the floor.

"Oh no! I am _so_ sorry..." The Autobot scientist stopped when he realized that he was crouching on nothing. He carefully and slowly lowered his hand to the ground. The minute it touched the Deception's chest, he grabbed him by the neck and threw him across the room.

Numbskull grunted in pain as his opponent deactivated his cloaking device and drew an energy pistol and fired. The Autobot narrowly dodged the shots and called for backup.

"Epsilon! There's a Deception in the com center! I need reinforcements, quick!"

"We'll be there as soon as possible!" the commander replied. "TickTock, get some weapons from the armory and bring them to us in the communications center! Firearm, ready the medbay! Quartz; Blades; you're with me!" The three transformed and rapidly advanced to the conflict.

...

Meanwhile, Hardhead was still managing to avoid harm, but he started to run out of energy.

"I could...really use...that backup soon!" he panted.

"We have you covered!" the blue Seeker said as he flew into the room. Quartz converted into his robot form and hit Silent Strike with a momentum-boosted kick. The Decepticon careened backward, but quickly regained control and shot and the opposing Autobot. Quartz ducked the first blast, jumped over the second, but was hit in the wing by the third. Silent Strike holstered his pistol and transformed the outer parts of his arms into two very sharp blades. He was about to skewer his fallen enemy, but was interrupted by an orange convertible drifting into the room and knocking him over. The Autobot transformed and drew two long swords, which glowed with purple energy.

"In terms of close-ranged weaponry...I would say I have you beaten."

Epsilon followed close behind, and pulled out his rifle as he converted.

"You're outnumbered and outmatched, Decepticon!" Epsilon cried.

"And _you're_ only half right." Silent Strike leaped over the Autobots' heads, firing on them with his duel pistols.

"Half right?" Hardhead mused. "Let's see...five energy signatures, including mine. Therefore, the Deception was saying that Epsilon was correct in that we outnumbered him, but incorrect in that we-" Numbskull was interrupted by a kick to the head from the sabotaging Seeker. Blades retailiated for his comrade by attempting to strike Silent Strike with his duel swords. However, the Attack was parried by the Deception with his own blades. While the two's weapons were locked together, Epsilon took the opportunity to run up to their opponent and knock him away with a well-placed punch. Silent Strike staggered back, allowing Hardhead to bring him down via a kick to the back.

"That was pretty close," Quartz remarked.

"What was he doing on the ship?" Epsilon wondered.

"Actually, I may have an idea..." said Hardhead.

Before the scientist Seeker could finish his sentence, Silent Strike, without any warning, blasted Epsilon in the shoulder. Quartz dashed at him, but fell to the floor after being hit with a sweeping kick. Fortunately for the Autobots, TickTock arrived at the com station with some weapons.

"Everbody, grab one!" he yelled as he tossed the weaponry into the air. Epsilon grabbed an extendable sword and attached it to his arm; Blades reluctantly caught a pistol; Quartz crawled to a blaster rifle and readied it. Finally, Hardhead picked up an EMP Grenade and activated it.

"It's lights out for you, Deception!" Then he realized he probably should have armed the bomb _after_ his mediocre attempt at a on-liner, rather than before. Everyone ducked back as the grenade went off and deactivated Numbskull.

While Hardhead's comrades took a moment to stare incredulously at him, Silent Strike attempted to sneak away. However, TickTock noticed him and threw a pair of auto-attach stasis cuffs at the saboteur. They locked onto his hands, bound them together, and deactivated his flight and weaponry. Epsilon and his crew approached him.

"All right, Deception. Why did you infiltrate our ship."

Silent Strike said nothing. Before his commander could ask another question, TickTock's acute audio receptors pick up something.

"Wait...that beeping...he's got a bomb! We have to get out of here!" He, Blades, and Quartz immediately left the room as quickly as possible, but Epsilon grabbed Hardhead and ran for cover, carrying him on his shoulders. Silent Strike smiled one last devious smile before the explosive within him burst.

...

Back in the Deception lair, Soundwave was keeping his master up to date on Silent Strike's mission.

"Sir, it appears that Silent Strike's self-detruct mechanism has activated." Megatron simply smiled.

"He achieved his primary goals: that is, to disable the engine and long-range communications beacon of their ship. Anything else is beneficial, but unnecessary. In fact, his death has likely eliminated several of our Autobot opponents. Soon, we will strike them down. And you, Soundwave, will be our instrument for that."

...

 **Extra Zone: Hardhead (AKA Numbskull)**

 _Tech Spec:_

Strength 4/10

Speed 6/10

Intelligence 10/10

Courage 7/10

Leadership 5/10

Firepower 2/10

 _Personality:_

Hardhead is one of the most intelligent Autobots to ever be enlisted. He is logical and tactical, as well as making an excellent strategist. Unfortunately, he is somewhat absentminded and clumsy, which earned him the nickname "Numbskull".


End file.
